Nespresso opens innovation center and increases production capacity at Romont site

Nestlé Nespresso is investing CHF 43m ($43m USD) in two new production lines in its Romont, Switzerland, factory to keep up with demand for its Vertuo coffee system. The coffee giant has also inaugurated an innovation facility – which includes a Product Development Center and ‘Coffee Campus’ – to develop its coffee expertise.

Nespresso opened the CHF 300m ($300m) Romont factory​​ – its third in Switzerland – in 2015. The factory is the primary production site for Nespresso Vertuo, a portioned coffee system delivering various coffee sizes from 40ml to 414ml.

The expansion will create 33 additional jobs over the next two years.

The Vertuo system was launched in North America in 2014 – designed to cater for North American preferences of larger coffees - and has since expanded to a total of 14 markets.

Nespresso CEO: ‘Innovation has always been at the heart of Nespresso’​

Nespresso has already invested an additional CHF 48m ($48m USD) to expand production capacity and create the innovation facility – which seeks to ‘bolster Nespresso’s work in innovating sustainable, quality coffee’.

The Product Development Center is dedicated to developing new Nespresso machines and Grand Cru coffees, including coffees from rare origins. Meanwhile, a small-scale production facility enables experimentation with different coffee experiences.

The Coffee Campus functions as a training centre that will continuously raise the level of expertise within the company and among external partners such as chefs.

Jean-Marc Duvoisin, CEO, Nespresso, said: “The new facilities will play a central role in our ability to offer consumers the latest developments in sustainable, high quality coffees and personalized customer service.​

“We are proud to continue to invest in our factory in Romont to support our Vertuo business, a strong contributor to our future growth. It is currently available in 14 countries and we continue to expand to new markets each year.”​

Boosting the coffee business ​

Nestlé highlights coffee as a ‘strong growth driver’, having seen organic growth over recent years. It says the Romont investment will help it lead in the coffee business.

Nespresso has three production facilities in Switzerland: at Romont, Orbe and Avenches.